188 SCIENCE REMAKING THE WORLD 



Any field, whether religion or science, is to be esti- 

 mated by its ideals, even though its occasional per- 

 formance may be open to criticism. The ideals of 

 science are (i) to understand nature, that the boun- 

 daries of human knowledge may be extended, and man 

 may live in an ever-widening perspective; (2) to apply 

 this knowledge to the service of man, that his life may 

 be fuller of opportunity; and (3) to use the method of 

 science in training man, so that he may solve his prob- 

 lems and not be their victim. 



I find nothing more helpful to the student and leader 

 of men than a clear appreciation of the working of 

 evolution as exemplified in plants and animals. Evo- 

 lution teaches that progress is gradual; that a better is 

 progress toward the best; that sudden radical changes 

 are not to be expected; that the future has its roots in the 

 present. It teaches that revolutions may be very slow. 

 It forbids unreasonable demands upon the individual 

 or upon society, and discountenances the usual type 

 of reformer. It shows that there have been no universal 

 catastrophes and new creations, but that the present has 

 gradually evolved from the past, and that the future 

 will appear in the same gradual way. Furthermore, it 

 shows that advance in a certain direction may not be 

 uniform, for there are periods of apparent recession, as 

 well as those of more rapid advance. The results are 

 only apparent in the large view over long periods of 

 time, when the tossing back and forth of surface waves 

 disappears, and the steady advance of the slow-moving 

 current becomes apparent. 



Perhaps most important of all, it teaches that man 



